For
years, the Search Engine Optimization
(SEO) industry has been fighting
off the curse of a bad name. Thankfully,
we have entered a period in which
many search engines and indexes
are cleaning up their acts and
offering their users the most
valuable content they can. The
result is an entirely new set
of successful optimization techniques,
and is now weeding out the good
SEO's from the bad.

Overview
of the Changes…
In recent years past, search engine
optimization firms were lurking
around every corner. Many of those
firms serviced their clientele
by offering single pages that
attracted the attention of the
search engines by focusing on
a particular key word or phrase.
Following the URL submission of
such a page, rank was apparent.

These
pages were referred to in many
ways - doorways, hallways, gateways,
and anchors to name a few. Regardless,
these pages were very successful
at gaining the attention of the
search engines, and consequently
ranked very well. When a user
accessed these pages though, there
was hardly any real information
to utilize unless you clicked
your way beyond all the useless
hype.

The
reputation of engines then suffered,
because users were unable to find
the information that they were
truly seeking. Not one to lay
down and die, the heavy hitting
engines we all love and use, needed
to make a change.

So
it became, that ranked URL's were
theoretically useless. As search
engines began realizing that they
needed to gain a competitive edge
on other engines and directories
- they began to realize this fault
and address it appropriately.
With the new update of Google's
database upon us, it is apparent
today more than ever that the
importance of doorway pages in
the minds of the engines is at
an all time low.

This
entire process (though now ending)
has come at quite the price for
the optimization industry. Many
firms that once provided single-page
solutions are closing down their
operations or laying off their
employees in massive amounts.
This though, is truly good for
the industry - because it forces
the legitimate and informed to
remain in business.

What
is Working Now
Again, this is a positive sign
for things to come. The days of
doorway page success are simply
no more, and that is evident by
the largest searching engine's
attempts to minimize (or eliminate)
their presence within search results.

As
a direct result, the industry
and the way that optimization
specialists work is all changing
- and doing so for the best. What
will be next? What are the determining
factors? Well, I have always been
one to say that content is king,
but it seems now that both content
and context will be king… Let
me explain a bit.

Search
engines only work well if they
can provide their users with quality,
relevant search results for a
particular search query. As doorway
pages began dominating, they were
quickly eliminated. Why? Simply
because the doorway pages were
not useful to the searcher looking
for information. Now, industry
giants like Google have begun
to analyze how themes of sites
work, and has made significant
progress within such areas.

So,
if you are about to begin a new
optimization campaign, analyze
the site and the situation as
one that is entirely unique. Don't
be afraid to think of and apply
some creative approach - because
that very well may become the
next wave to SEO. But, do so with
the following factors in mind:


Provide information of relevance
to your target audience
 Systems like Google's Page
Rank (PR) are growing in importance
 Engines are beginning to
index dynamic content sources
 Engines are beginning to
index flash content
 Link Popularity is sure
to have a positive effect
 Always factor in functionality,
usability, and browse-ability
for all  Text is always
going to be have more value than
images
 Analyze, analyze, analyze

The
result of the entire shakedown
should be something we all - as
honest optimization specialists
- absolutely adore. Less spam,
less annoyance, and more legitimacy
and respect.